The trial of Sean “Diddy” Combs isn’t until May but we have our first glimpse at what the rapper and mogul’s defense will be when that day comes. Combs has been charged with sex trafficking and racketeering, with prosecutors alleging that he forced or coerced various women, including through the use of illegal drugs, into performing sex acts on camera. But Diddy’s lawyers are claiming that nothing illegal was happening because everybody involved was a consenting adult, and that the evidence proves this.
The charges against Diddy have centered on his parties, known as “Freak-Offs," where these alleged crimes took place. There are reportedly at least nine videos in the possession of the prosecution from these events, but in a letter sent by the defense team to the court (via Court TV) Diddy’s attorneys argue the videos show nothing but consenting adults, and that the prosecution of Diddy is simply "puritanical," because it has a problem with what Diddy chose to do with adults. The letter states…
Any fair-minded viewer of the videos will quickly conclude that the prosecution of Mr. Combs is both sexist and puritanical. It is sexist because the government’s theory perpetuates stereotypes of female victimhood and lack of agency.
The letter also specifically claims that at least one alleged victim in one of the videos "thoroughly enjoyed herself" based on the video evidence and that this is proof that there was no coercion.
Court TV refers to this as the “defense going on offense” and it’s not hard to see why. It appears Diddy’s primary defense won’t be that the parties didn’t happen or that he wasn’t aware of anything illegal going on, but simply that he did nothing wrong. The claim is that everybody involved was willing and nothing in the videos is illegal and anybody who has a problem with Diddy’s sexual interests is simply too conservative in their thinking.
It will be interesting to see how prosecutors react to this defense. Obviously, we haven’t seen the evidence against Diddy so we don’t know what, if any, exists to prove that the women weren’t consenting adults. It's unclear if any of the women in the videos are set to testify. The accusers are currently anonymous, though Diddy's team has attempted to get their identities revealed.
There are certainly a lot of details left to come out, that we likely won’t hear about until the trial in May. Even if Diddy’s defense is successful, his legal woes will be far from over. In the months since his arrest, dozens of lawsuits have been filed against him accusing Diddy of sexual assault including rape.
Whether the prosecution will respond to the claims of Diddy’s lawyers prior to trial is unknown but we’ll certainly be following developments. A lot is at stake as Diddy could spend the rest of his life in prison if he is convicted.
